MU basketball teams in key NEC games

There’s an old saying in the sports world: You are what your record says you are. That saying is certainly appropriate for the Monmouth University men’s and women’s basketball teams. Both teams have been flirting with .500 records for most of the season, indicating an upand down campaign filled with both promise and frustration.

This past weekend’s action represents a microcosm of the season thus far for both teams, as they both went 1-1 against teams having similar-type seasons. And while both the men’s and women’s teams are in line to qualify for the Northeast Conference Tournament, they will certainly need to play better if they hope to compete for a shot at the title. The Monmouth men took on Central Connecticut State University team on Thursday that was in desperate need of a win. At 5-14 on the year (and 3-6 in league play), the Blue Devils were in danger of dropping out of the race for one of the eight spots in the NEC tournament. Monmouth, meanwhile, entered the game at 9-11 (5-3 in league play), jockeying for a high seed.

Both teams certainly had plenty to play for, but it was CCSU that looked like the hungrier team, posting a 66-44 win. Monmouth shot just 28 percent from the floor in this one (including 1-for-17 from threepoint range), struggling to score from the outset. As a result, CCSU ran away early and never looked back.

Ed Waite led three Hawks in doubledigits scoring, posting 13 points, while Whitney Coleman added 11 and Will Campbell chipped in with 10 points. But there was little to be pleased with following one of the Hawks’ more disappointing efforts of the year.

That set up a classic trap game for Monmouth on Saturday, when they traveled to Smithfield, R.I., to take on winless Bryant University. Early on, it appeared that Monmouth might be due for another disappointing effort; the Bulldogs came out and played an inspired first half en route to a 27-21 lead at the intermission.

But whatever head coach Dave Calloway said to his team during the break seemed to work, because the Hawks rallied for a 50-46 win.

Nick DelTufo led the way with 15 points while Will Campbell was clutch in the second half with four trifectas. It certainly wasn’t pretty, but the Hawks managed to hang on for an important win over a Bryant team that lost its 23rd consecutive game.

At 6-4 in NEC play, the Hawks now find themselves tied for third place with St. Francis and Long Island University. Robert Morris University leads the pack with a 9- 1 mark while Quinnipiac University is just a game behind at 8-2.

The Monmouth men are back in action tonight when they open up a home-andhome series with Fairleigh Dickinson University by traveling to the Stratis Arena. The Knights, who are 6-16 overall (5-5 in NEC play) and are coming off a loss to CCSU on Sunday, will then come to West Long Branch on Saturday.

In what has been an up-and-down season, Calloway hopes his team can start to put together some momentum heading into the NEC tournament. And with only eight games left on the slate, the Hawks need to kick it into high gear.

The same thing can be said of the Monmouth women, who put forth a strong

defensive effort in beating CCSU, 52-44, on Jan. 28 before coming home to fall to Bryant, 63-50, on Saturday.

Now 10-11 on the year (5-5 in NEC play), the Lady Hawks are tied with CCSU for sixth place in the conference standings. Head

coach Stephanie Gaitley’s young team has shown glimpses of strong play throughout the year but is understandably lacking the consistency needed to compete with the elite teams.

Against CCSU, the MU defense was the story: the Hawks held their opponent to just 32 percent from the floor and allowed its fewest points since holding Davidson College to 43 back on Nov. 28. They also caused 19 turnovers and scored 19 points off those turnovers.

“This was a great win, especially with how we challenged the team after the Robert Morris game,” said Gaitley. “We told them that we needed a big defensive effort against this team, who was one of the hottest in the conference. I’m happy with the way they performed today.”

Freshman Alysha Womack led the Hawks with 20 points on 8-18 shooting, adding four rebounds and three steals, while freshman Gabby Singer continued her strong play of late with nine points. Alexis Canady had a strong overall game as well, posting eight points, seven rebounds and three steals.

However, on Saturday against Bryant, the Hawks fell behind early and struggled to come back throughout the game. They did get within 54-48 with just over three minutes to play, but the Bulldogs were able to hang on for their fifth win in their last six games.

Freshman Adriana Allen led the way for MU with a career-high 13 points, while another frosh, Erin Rooney, added a careerhigh 12.

Monmouth also returns to action tonight when it visits in-state league rival Fairleigh Dickinson in the first of a home-and-home. The Hawks have their work cut out for them, since their final eight regular-season games feature several match-ups with teams on the bubble for the NEC tourney.

FDU is just 2-6 in league play this year but could play its way back into contention with a pair of wins over MU this week.